Music: Sonic Youth - The Eternal (2009)

Current Music Review: Sonic Youth / The Eternal / 2009

Review by Jordan Cronk: The cover of 1987's Sister billed the band as The Sonic Youth, perhaps a self-consciously cheeky nod to the brave few steadfastly trudging through the American underground rock scene of the era or maybe of no overriding significance at all (probably the latter, but stay with me). In my mind that “The” has been implied ever since, as there never has and never will be another Sonic Youth. If you’ve hung around me for a considerable period of time, you’ve probably heard me refer to Sonic Youth as the greatest American rock band ever, and I’ve honestly never heard a compelling enough argument to convince me otherwise. My (admittedly warped) view of music history basically pivots on the arrival of their self-titled 1982 EP, a time when the downtown NYC art scene collided head-on with the burgeoning DIY art-rock movement, effectively spawning what has arguably become America’s only consistently engaging, artistically intelligent and musically omnivorous rock band still going strong over 25 years later (or, post-Vampire Weekend). Hell, they’ve been massaging the history since day one, and with each new release comes (at the very least) the comfort of yet another accomplished and artistically airtight document of a band in the continual process of maturation. So it’s now 2009 and here we have the knowingly titled The Eternal, Sonic Youth’s 16th studio album and first on an independent label in over 20 years, and while it’s exactly what you’ve come to expect, it still manages to kick all kinds of ass in the process.

Signing to Matador hasn’t exactly trigger a change in the band’s overall approach – these guys had been doing whatever the hell they wanted on a major label’s dime for almost two decades – but it does sound like the band is a little looser and more comfortable this time out in the environs of something more closely resembling a community. By comparison, 2006's streamlined Rather Ripped, while quite effective and very popular for a late period SY album, still felt to me like their least significant statement since Experimental Jet Set (1994). I’m thankful then for the more prescient and weighty subject matter explored on The Eternal, despite the fact only a few tracks here really add much to the overall Sonic Youth conversation. Opener “Sacred Trickster” at first sounds like a logical extension of the punked-up energy of Rather Ripped, but its conviction more accurately aligns it with Kim Gordon’s passion-fueled rants circa Dirty (1992). “Sacred Trickster” is put in stark contrast almost immediately by the following track, “Anti-Orgasm,” a lengthier and more wandering piece than what they’ve gone in for lately, though still probably the band’s most blatant political statement since “Peace Attack.” Its sequencing in the two-hole may be questionable in regards to momentum, but the dentist-drill guitar stabs that punctuate Gordon’s sexual vocal thrusts feel more alive and potent than a great deal of Rather Ripped.

While still a fairly straightforward rock record by Sonic Youth standards, The Eternal does see the band re-embracing a bit of the sprawl that was reigned in on Rather Ripped. Sonic Youth junkies have been clamoring for more of this since 2001's return-to-prominence Murray Street, but here, ironically, the drawn-out numbers are probably the least effective moments on the album. Instead, it’s the immediacy of tracks such as “Calming the Snake,” “Thunderclap for Bobby Pryn” and most especially Lee Ranaldo’s “What We Know” that leave the strongest impression, while drifting pieces like “Antenna” and “Malibu Gas Station” tend to grow tedious well before conclusion. These prolonged tracks tend to work better within the flow of the album though, and these meandering moments actually belie the fact that 10 minute closer “Massage the History” is one of the band’s most effective long-form pieces in a while. As always, there is an unspoken earnestness in every de-tuned note, and while a few of these tracks are par for the SY course, nothing here comes close falling below the band’s staunch standards.

In addition to all this, the actual sound and recording of The Eternal feels more substantial than a lot of their work, due in no small part to the full-time membership of Pavement’s Mark Ibold on bass, who has been touring with the band ever since their last record. Now as an official member, Ibold frees up Gordon to complete the triple guitar attack of the Sonic Youth of yore, and the fuller and more robust sonics of The Eternal therefore make it feel a whole lot more durable than some of the more fleeting pleasures of Rather Ripped. The record’s other distinguishing feature is the democratic use of vocal duties, wherein up to all three songwriters may make an appearance on a single track. Of course, the lead vocal of each song still out each piece as a specific entry in each songwriters' oeuvre, but the back-up and counterpoint vocal accompaniment add a dimension to the group that had surprisingly never been fully explored up until now. As a result, a handful of songs (“Leaky Lifeboat” and “Poison Arrow” most emphatically) actually sound birthed from more of a full-band group-think than their more typical, solo-originated pieces.

These subtle differences certainly work in The Eternal’s favor, and while I can’t imagine this being anyone’s favorite Sonic Youth record, it is nevertheless a worthy addition to one of the world’s most resolute discographies. Anyone expecting a game-changer at this point will have misplaced their expectations, but those wise enough to keep their anxieties in check should have no problem enjoying most of this record. Though there are certainly better places to start, I’d say this even goes for new fans looking to dive into some outwardly perilous waters. Despite the label change and the less than immediate additions here, it seems unlikely Sonic Youth will ever be another position to really radicalize rock music. 2002's Murray Street then should go down as their last landmark accomplishment, though with rewards still being spread fruitfully throughout each successive record, there is no reason to stop following their every move. The band itself would never stoop to pandering or blatant pleasure-stroking, and for that reason alone The Sonic Youth will never die. (★★½)

LAST WORD: Sonic Youth’s 16th album, and first for an independent label in over two decades, is one of the band’s most thematically and sonically substantial releases of the last ten years.